Storytelling: Fatal Care: The state of foster care in Milwaukee

When 13-month-old Christopher Thomas Jr. was beaten to death by his foster-care mother, it sparked an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel into the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare.

The Bureau was one of the few in the nation that was not required to report deaths of children in their custody to the public, thus allowing the agencies to operate without accountability to the public it serves.

The investigation identified at least 22 children who had died in foster care between 2004-2008 as a result of systemic neglect. After the series ran, state laws were changed to hold welfare officials accountable for the children in out-of-home care.